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by mike23 on August 17th, 2008
term came from atomic physics to describe the speed of the initiation process of an atomic bomb.
by Buster on June 11th, 2009
I invented it; send me royalties every time you say it
by Mr. Chairman on April 22nd, 2007
It had to come from a farmer. Lambs are quick with a tail wag. My mother has said this forever.
by erikaleigh on April 6th, 2010
my english teacher alwaus said it...i thought that she was crazy for saying this..
by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on February 12th, 2010
The saying is actually "quick as two shakes of a lambs tail." Watch a nursing lamb and you'll see that they tend to flick their tail so quickly that you almost can't see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZbtemSHypY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDjbW2eZ-Q&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX6uDJdyvm8&feature=related
by sfgate on February 12th, 2010
Chairman is correct, but mike has it backwards.
Wiki defines a "shake" as a unit of time equal to 10 nanoseconds. During research for the first atomic bomb, scientists needed a term for such an interval for the first time. Since two shakes of a lamb's tail is very quick, they coined the term "shake."
I submit that the expression involving a lamb's tail has probably been around a lot longer than atomic research.
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Comments
NOT TRUE ! MY PARENTS USED THAT PHRASE AS FAR BACK AS I CAN REMEMBER, IN THE LATE 1920'S AND 1930'S. tHIS WAS LONG BEFORE THE ATOMIC BOMB WAS A REALITY.
DON SCHIMPFF - REDDING, CA
by donschimpff on September 29th, 2010